NTM missionaries have reported that they have had no effects at their locations from this earthquake and that the potential tsunamis have not occurred. Thank you for your prayers for the missionaries and the people of this area.

Namoleya, Max, Marcus, Suduwama and Maile. The names don’t exactly trip off the tongue. Two or three even stubbornly resist it. But they’re names you should know. Names of men you should thank God for, and pray for, as they step out in faith to serve God.

The Bisorios Step In

Namoleya, Max, Marcus, Suduwama and Maile are five of the leaders and teachers of the Bisorio church in Papua New Guinea, and they’ve stepped in to provide exactly what the fledgling church among the neighboring Malaumanda people needs: disciple-makers.

For various reasons, it’s been tough for Western missionaries to endure long-term among the Malaumanda people. This is a problem for stability -- and credibility. And that’s where the Bisorios stepped in. When it came time for the first outreach by the Malaumanda church, to a village two or three days away, two Bisorio leaders went along with two missionaries to disciple, encourage and help in any way they could. And a church was born, with more than 20 people giving clear testimonies of faith in Christ after a series of foundational, chronological Bible lessons.

The Bisorios Step Up

But when it was time to go back to disciple the new believers, only one Malaumanda leader, Jimi, could go. Now the Bisorios stepped up.

Even though it takes almost a week of hiking to get from the Bisorio villages to the Malaumanda people, Namoleya returned with a team of 12 Bisorio leaders and teachers. Some of these men brought their families and gave testimony of God burdening their hearts to come in order to teach and encourage. Namoleya intensively discipled Jimi.

The respect the Malaumanda believers have for their brothers and sisters from the Bisoro people is clear. They listen intently when Bisorios teach, eagerly when they encourage, courageously when they exhort. Please thank God for Namoleya, Max, Marcus, Suduwama and Maile, and the others like them, and pray for Him to strengthen and encourage them.

It’s fitting that this is an answer to the prayer of one of those five Bisorio men when missionaries departed from their work among the Bisorios because a church had been established. Listen to Maile’s prayer

More]]>Ian FallisLiteracy should make the headlines!http://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/81087/literacy-should-make-the-headlines
81087Sun, 22 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0500Much attention is focused on learning a tribal language, teaching foundational Bible truths in that language, and then “growing” a mature church. Equal attention is given to the need for an accurate and natural-sounding translation of God’s Word in their language. But what about literacy?

Literacy Promotes Access to God’s Word

Within the context of missions, teaching people to read and write rarely makes the headlines, but it is an essential and vital component of the church planting effort.

Without literacy, people do not have full access to God’s Word in their language. Without readers in the tribal language, even an accurate and natural-sounding translation of God’s Word is still a closed book. And without a literate leadership, the tribal church will forever remain dependent on the missionary to feed them.

“[Literacy] materials will be the tool that gives the people the first access to the Word of God in their language,” wrote Jerry and Joyce McDaniels. “How exciting is that?”

See, literacy should make the headlines!

History is Made!

And so should the new stand-alone program tentatively called Literacy Starter. This is custom software that speeds up the creation of the literacy curriculum, making it more accurate.

History has been made. The first field test for Literacy Starter took place last month, in February 2015. Literacy consultants and consultants-in-training from all over Latin America met in Colombia for an intense, three-week literacy workshop. During the workshop, the program was field tested as they wrote literacy materials for two tribal language groups native to Colombia. Doesn’t that sound like something that should be making headlines? Though it’s not in the news much, let’s keep literacy in our prayers.

It’s been estimated that 99 percent of all the people who feel God wants them to be missionaries never become missionaries. Let me rephrase that to be sure it’s clear: 1 percent of the people who feel God desires for them to serve Him as missionaries actually do it.

What Happened?

Why does that happen?

Could it be that these days, God is less committed to that stuff He said about making disciples of all nations? No! It would be contrary to His Word, and contrary to His nature. He doesn’t change, and He loves all people.

Some may think it’s less important because the need for Western missionaries is less these days. But that’s not true either. Hundreds, even thousands, of the world’s people groups have yet to hear the Good News. And the national missionaries that some are relying on to finish the work? They themselves are crying out for help from Western missionaries -- for trainers, co-workers, mentors and helpers.

The real problem is, people let something stop them from going. One thing. Over and over again.

I Was Afraid of That

The 99 percent who don’t go let fear stop them.

That’s the finding of people who’ve studied the issue. And both the number and the reason are great news for people like you who pray for missions and missionaries.

The number is great because it means a change of just one percentage point would double the number of missionaries going out. That would be in line with His will, right? And it’s something we could trust Him for, isn’t it? Well, the Bible tells us that if we pray according to His will, and trust Him, He will answer. That’s great!

The reason is great because it gives us something specific to pray about. We can pray that the people God is asking to serve Him as missionaries will be encouraged and full of faith, and never give in to their fears. These are very real fears, and these are big fears. But God is real too, and He’s a lot bigger.

Want to learn more about these fears, and how to overcome them? Read this ...

“Thank you,” the typhoon survivor said over and over again, tears in his eyes. “Thank you.” The man wouldn’t stop shaking the hand of missionary pilot Zach Keller. He just stood there, smiling, crying, and saying, “Thank you.”

But It Wasn’t Quite Right

This happened almost a year and a half ago, when Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines. Two isolated island chains were among those devastated, and this is where NTM, in coordination with MAF, focused.

A short time earlier, Zach had landed an NTM helicopter on the island where the man lives. As Zach began unloading large sacks of rice, the smiles and the thanks came raining down. After he was back in the air, Zach thought how unfair it was that he got the thanks, when so many other people behind the scenes were working and giving to make this possible.

Get the Rest of the Story

So Zach shared the story. It was his way of passing the man’s thanks on to people like you who gave and worked to make the aid possible.

It’s just one of many stories from that disaster and its aftermath, including the fascinating story of how it all came together in the first place -- the story that’s in the March issue of NTM’s magazine, NTM@work.

“Every time I go into a translation check,” said missionary translator and consultant Lisa Kappeler, “my prayer is that I can be a help to the translator.” But sometimes it’s a challenge. And sometimes prayer alone is what brings it all together.

Prayer: Essential to Translating

“The translation check was moving along and the material was being well understood -- until we reached this one part. It just did not communicate what we wanted it to,” Lisa said. “Normally you can figure something out. You can see there’s a connection missing here or the participant isn’t clear. ... [But this time] there was none of that. We could not figure it out.”

Knowing the language and translation principles is vital to the translation process. Bathing it in prayer is another part. An essential part. And Lisa and the translator were doing just that. They were praying like crazy and trusting God to show them why the translation was not communicating clearly.

Too Many Blessings

But nothing was jumping off the page at them, so they moved on down the passage, continuing to pray for clarity.

And then they reached the verse where God says to Abraham, “I will bless you, and I will make you a blessing, that through you all people will be blessed…”

All those “blessings” in a row utterly confused the translation checkers. But this time the confusion was enlightening. It made it clear to Lisa that the key term being used for blessing was the problem.

“He [the translator] had tried to use too much in the explanation of what the term meant, so the [translation checkers] got hung up on the term. Once he adjusted his term for blessing it made sense,” Lisa explained.

She went on to give credit where credit was due. “We could only attribute the discovery of what the problem was to the time that we were praying. The Lord is the only one I could give credit to for revealing that.”

Prayer is a vital component in the translation process. Pray for NTM translators across the globe.

What’s it take for you to go grocery shopping? Do you plan to be gone for a week, and figure out how to carry back enough food for a month? Or do you hire a plane to come get you? If you have a medical emergency, can you call an ambulance … or would you radio a commercial air service and see if they could fit you into their schedule?

Waiting for Help

That’s the situation NTM missionaries in Brazil face as they await the beginning of a flight program. For years, NTM Aviation has been working to put a flight program in place for people serving in remote locations.

And now, that program hinges on one important final step: importation.

Almost There

Already, a Cessna 206 -- a capable, workhorse plane sometimes called the pickup truck of missionary aviation -- has been overhauled, prepped and flown to Brazil.

Charlie Patton and a Brazilian pilot, Everton Arrantes, flew the plane to Belo Horizonte earlier this month, where it cleared customs. Now the Brazilian government must approve importing it. Then comes the work of putting in place a flight program for missionaries -- saving them countless, priceless hours each month.

Please pray that the importation process goes smoothly and quickly. Pray that a specific, necessary document -- the legal bill of sale -- arrives soon from the Brazilian consulate in Miami.

“People say that the importation process can take a month,” wrote Charlie’s wife, Ruth. Pray also that the Lord raises up pilots for Brazil. Charlie and Ruth will transition back to the USA after everything is in place in Brazil.

You can keep up with the Charlie and Ruth's journey, and the progress of the flight program in Brazil. Visit the Pattons' blog.

More]]>Ian FallisA Life in the Balancehttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80895/a-life-in-the-balance
80895Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0600Mom and ill baby prepare to fly to hospital for medical care.

As soon as the helicopter landed in the Southern Isneg village, one of the clinic workers rushed to Vicky Martin to tell her a seriously ill patient needed to go back in the helicopter. But that’s the middle of the story.

Through Deep Waters

Two days before, a man from that village was visiting another village a day’s hike away and ran across a young couple with sick twin babies.

“They were going ... for help because all the things they did to get help from the spirits were not working and the babies were getting worse,” Vicky said. The man directed them to his village and the clinic there, staffed by two women trained by Vicky, an emergency medical technician.

“This couple carried their barely month-old twins here through the rain and high river crossings.” They arrived at night, drenched. The villagers responded with dry clothes, food and shelter, and medical care for the twins. One of the girls responded well to treatment; the other did not, and in the night, she stopped breathing. The woman hosting the family applied what Vicky taught mothers, and got her breathing again.

God Is Faithful

To Vicky, the best part of the story came just before her return. One of the Southern Isneg believers told the babies’ mom that nothing is impossible for God, and we need only trust Him. And that’s when they heard the helicopter. “She jumped up all excited that the Lord had proven Himself to this mother.”

The helicopter flew the girls and their parents to town, where both children are still in the hospital but are recovering from pneumonia. Pray that the babies make a full recovery, and that they and their parents have the opportunity to hear a clear presentation of the gospel.

More]]>Ian FallisA God-sized Taskhttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80894/a-god-sized-task
80894Sun, 08 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0600Planting a church in a transitory work community presents unique challenges. Dispersed through the audience will be new arrivals, creating a need for constant review. With primarily one Bible teacher responsible to teach eight lessons per week in two languages, the Mengen church of Papua New Guinea knew this was a God-sized task.

Testimonies Roll In

By faith, two Mengen families began the outreach. Of those who came, 16 people faithfully attended the teaching in its entirety -- and hounded the teachers from dawn till dusk to hear more.

In a pause during the last lesson, testimonies began to roll in. “It’s because of my repentance and faith alone that I’ll fly straight into Heaven,” said one man. Another said, “I began to put my faith in the Redeemer from the ninth lesson on, and then I saw miraculous changes in my life such as fear, shame and other things beginning to fall away.”

Eleven out of sixteen came to a clear faith in the finished work of Christ!

God Gave the Increase

The Mengen church accepted the God-sized task. Like the Apostle Paul and Apollos, they planted and watered. Prayer partners like you prayed. And God gave the increase.

Dave and Judy Wright, missionaries to the Mengens, recognize the impact of prayer. “These lives, transformed for all of eternity, have been credited to your accounts,” they wrote to their team of prayer partners.

And they ask that you join that team in praying for this fledgling church. Pray for the Mengen Bible teachers as they build on the foundation laid to grow these new believers in the faith.

More]]>Rosie CochranHe'd give a finger to get a handhttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80803/he-d-give-a-finger-to-get-a-hand
80803Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0600{Many people are asking for "God's talk"}

The elderly man couldn’t understanding what he was seeing. His neighbors already had two missionary families living among them, and his people had none. Why was this new family there?

An Invitation

“You should come live with us, learn our language, and teach us God’s talk,” he told Seth Callahan.

Seth is in the village as part of his family’s orientation to Papua New Guinea. “I’ll be leaving again in just a few weeks,” he told the man.

And then things got serious.

Then a Threat

“I’ve been to one of the churches near here and they only teach from Pidgin or English Bibles,” the man said. “They told me that if I don’t believe God’s Talk then I’m going to the place of fire. I don’t understand God’s Talk though. … If you don’t come live with us, then I’m going to cut off my finger.”

Seth thought perhaps it was a figure of speech, but the man was serious. Cutting off a finger is a sign of deep mourning. That’s how desperate the man was to hear God’s Word.

It took three tries, but Seth convinced the man to keep his finger on by promising to tell others of the need for missionaries.

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Luke 10:2

Is God asking you to be an answer to prayer? You can learn how to go, share God's Word, translate the Bible and establish a church in a cross-cultural setting. Find out more.

A full-time job

Ever had a full-time job? Lincoln McIlroy just got one: Learning the language and culture of the country where he and his wife, Alisha, plan to minister. Instead of taking a course, they’re learning it the way they might someday learn an unwritten tribal language.

Carrying on

The foundation of their learning is eight hours a week with a language helper. “Right now, we spend them getting nouns and verbs and practical expressions,” Lincoln said. “After the session, we put all that information into a program on our computer, and are able to review it later.”

Among their discoveries so far: “There are many different verbs to describe the various ways of carrying things. You can membawa (carry something light), memikul (carry things suspended from a pole or stick resting on your shoulders), menggendong (carry something heavy or precious, like a baby) or memanggul (carry something on your head or shoulders). I think there are probably quite a few more that we haven't learned yet.”

Learning All the Time

They also spend time on “cultural exposure” -- just getting out among people. During this time, they’re also keen to chat with people, since these are opportunities to practice language.

So Alisha’s ears perked up when a man asked her a question as they rode a bus. “She wracked her brain, trying to identify what he was saying,” Lincoln said. “Not coming up with anything, she said Apa?, which means 'What?' He repeated his question.”

She still didn’t get it, even after he said it several more times. Finally, Elroy, their 7-year-old son, spoke up: "Mommy, he's speaking English!"

“It turns out,” Lincoln said, “he was saying ‘Are you from America?’ But we try so hard to understand their language, that when we come across someone who speaks some English, it actually sounds foreign to us.”

And Ten More Times

Language learning can be funny and interesting, and it can be tedious and boring.

“Mainly, our language study consists of hours of learning new words, recording them and playing them back on the computer while looking at pictures of the items,” Lincoln said. “One of the most important aspects of language learning is just hearing it over and over and over again. We sit at the computer and will listen to certain words or phrases 10 times in a row, before moving down the list to do the same thing with each of hundreds of items.”

Pray that Lincoln and Alisha find in God the strength and will to persevere, as well as the ability to laugh at themselves.

David and Shari Ogg, who serve in Papua New Guinea, saw this powerful truth demonstrated late last year. David and three Simbari men met with translation experts to do the final check of five New Testament books. How clear would the translation be for the Simbari people? How well would they comprehend? If there were concerns, they were soon to be dispelled.

“As they carefully read through each verse,” wrote Shari, “the Simbari helpers could hardly contain their excitement over hearing these passages for the first time in their own language. It has certainly pierced their hearts!”

Reigniting the Flame

Did you hear that? It pierced their hearts. Shari went on to say that, “one of the guys shared with us how he is so excited about ‘God’s Talk’ that he wants to go around sharing it with others even if it means facing opposition or death.”

Testimonies like that reignite the flame during the long, tedious and challenging process of Bible translation. It’s not an easy task. But there is nothing greater than seeing uncontainable excitement in the lives of tribal people as they read God’s Word in their own language. Pray for David Ogg as he continues translating.

More]]>Rosie CochranEquipped Each Step of the Wayhttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80748/equipped-each-step-of-the-way
80748Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0600These days, a lot of jobs are so complex that no course can adequately prepare you, and you have to keep on learning if you’re going to do it well. That certainly applies to the task of establishing a church where there is none, among people with a unique worldview who speak a different language.

Laying the Groundwork

It’s not all academic at NTM USA’s Missionary Training Center. There are classes in phonemics and linguistics, Bible translation and language acquisition, and also time to develop “practical skills.”

“They do cooking from scratch, have limited electricity and water in their apartments, spend a weekend experiencing rustic camping and attend several classes designed for living in remote locations,” wrote Robert and Terri Harmon, who are on staff at the center.

“Robert helped to teach the orienteering class (using an old fashioned compass) and next week will teach about troubleshooting off-grid electrical systems. Terri shared about what types of things a missionary should bring to the field for cooking and next week will teach about making transitions as a family.”

The two-year course lays the groundwork for what lies ahead.

A Taste of What Is to Come

The next step is orientation. After arrival in the country where they will serve, missionaries learn the national language and get familiar with the country’s culture. They also get a closer look at the ministries there.

For Seth and Rochelle Callahan, new to Papua New Guinea, that meant, “We packed all of our gear, boxed up six weeks’ worth of groceries, loaded everything into the back of a pickup, and headed up into the mountains.”

“It’s such a privilege for our family to be able to be here, living alongside these two awesome missionary families as we continue our Tok Pisin [national language] studies,” the Callahans wrote. “What a great way for us to get a taste of what day-to-day life looks like for tribal church planters.”

Life-long Learning

Even two years of training and up to a year of orientation can’t prepare missionaries for everything that can arise in just the beginning stages of their ministry: language learning, culture evaluation, literacy course development and Bible lesson preparation.

New Tribes Mission provides in-country workshops and seminars taught by consultants -- experienced missionaries who have been trained in helping other missionaries. These consultants also travel to remote villages to provide evaluations for missionaries. These evaluations give church planters an objective look at their progress and a roadmap of where to go next.

Of course, once you’re an experienced missionary, trained to help others, you’ve arrived, right? Not so fast!

“In February 2015, a group of literacy consultants and consultants-in-training from all over Latin America will meet together in Colombia for an intense, three-week literacy workshop. This will sharpen the literacy workers’ skills through hands-on, practical work,” wrote Jerry and Joyce McDaniels, who are literacy consultants.

Please pray for encouragement, wisdom and strength for the trainers and consultants who are so vital to serving God with excellence.

More]]>Ian FallisWhat Would You Say?http://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80747/what-would-you-say
80747Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0600Our hearts ache to serve the many tribal groups begging for missionaries to come to their village and teach them God’s truth. Yet the stark truth remains: We are spread too thin. What Jesus said in Matthew 9:37 is still true today. “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

The Next Generation

How would you handle this? How would you tell tribal groups that there aren’t enough missionaries to serve them? The need for more missionaries heading to the mission field is obvious, but where will this next generation of missionaries come from?

Some will respond to a mission challenge at their church, at a missions conference or even on a college campus.

Some will find their eyes opened and lives changed after going on a short-term mission trip -- or by experiencing missions for a week or weekend at the Wayumi campus. Others will be impacted for worldwide missions through personal relationships with missionaries. But what then?

Packing My Packs!

“My idea was that I get my suitcase, pack a few things along with my Bible and go. To where or when I didn’t know,” thought Amelia Orrostieta when she first felt challenged into missions.

But that’s not how it actually went. God used her church leadership to first direct Amelia into missions training to receive essential and foundational training.

That’s where New Tribes Bible Institute comes into the picture. NTBI is where education and missions are one. It’s a Bible education like none other.

Over the two-year course, students receive a solid Biblical foundation with a strong emphasis on missions -- and earn an Associates Degree in Biblical Studies in the process. And since the teachers are missionaries themselves, their heart for missions can’t help but shine through. In doing so, NTBI itself becomes yet another mobilizing tool in God’s hands.

Meeting the Challenge

In 2015, wouldn’t it be great to be able to respond affirmatively to more requests from tribal people groups to send missionaries to their villages? Pray with us to that end.

Pray for the Wayumi staff in their unique presentation of missions that enables attendees to experience missions, rather than just hear about it.

Pray for the New Tribes Bible Institute staff as they challenge students to not only grow in their knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, but to grasp God’s heart for a lost world.

And ultimately, pray for more lives to be challenged into world-wide missions, lives that can then be used by God to reach tribal people groups who are begging for missionaries to come.

People group assessments are like scouting missions that help missionaries determine where to focus their church planting efforts. They take time, energy, and money. So, why not just send missionaries to every village in every people group instead?

An NTM missionary in Papua New Guinea, helps answer this question, “It would be great to just be able to send a missionary to every single village in every single people group and not be concerned that some Christians might go to places that already have a good gospel witness. Unfortunately, we have limited personnel which means that we need to be wise stewards and carefully invest the resources that God has entrusted to us.”

When an assessment team goes out, they are looking for answers to a number of questions about a people group. These include, does the group already have access to the gospel? Are there other religions or cults influencing the local people? What languages and dialects are spoken? And the final question, what kind of interest do the people have for New Tribes Mission to come, translate God’s Word and teach Bible lessons?

A Closer Look Before Sending a Team

When an assessment team is praying about going into a new region, they visit several different villages in order to gain a deeper understanding of the people. This initial groundwork is necessary to avoid misusing time and resources.

“Incorrect information can have serious ramifications for missionaries and nationals alike,” a missionary said.

For example, studying an area will help the team avoid translating the Bible into a dying language. A typical Bible translation costs about $35 a verse and takes 10 to 20 years to complete. Because of this, teams want to select a language that will be around a long time.

The Most Important Factor

People group assessments are a valuable tool that help NTM make wise decisions about how to use God’s resources. These assessments and strategies go hand in hand with prayer. Seeking God’s direction is at the heart of all of NTM’s church planting efforts and what allows for fruit on the field.

A missionary shared, “Trust and obedience are more important than any amount of planning and strategizing.”

Everyone loves Christmas. There’s family time and festivities. What’s not to like about that? But what is more incredible is the reason behind the season. At Christmas we celebrate God’s greatest gift to mankind -- the gift of His Son. That gift was a life-changer for humanity.

The Element of Prayer

God’s greatest gift of His Son is also a life-changer on a personal level. When we reflect on the spiritual and physical gifts with which the Lord has blessed us, it motivates us to give back. Not because it is required of us, but because we want to.

Sometimes giving back is about giving of our resources -- of our time, energy and material wealth.But always there is the element of prayer.

The Evidence of Prayer

And we know prayer works. We’ve seen answered prayer. Just this year we saw the completion of the Dom, Bagwido, Waxe and Palawano New Testament translations -- and progress made with the Ivanga New Testament and the Higaunon Old Testament translations.

We’ve prayed missionaries like the Lehmans and Shrifts to their place of service -- and watched miracles unfold as God provided two of the three Kodiak aircraft needed for Papua New Guinea.

We’ve seen the evidence of prayer.

Our Most Powerful Resource

And so we continue to pray. We pray with anticipation to see how God will provide the third Kodiak aircraft for Papua New Guinea. We pray for candidates to enter NTM’s training program -- and then we pray them through the training and onto their field of service.

Through prayer we are team members with missionaries across the globe as they teach through the Bible from the creation of the world to a real understanding of why Jesus died on the cross. We pray with them as they persevere in translating God’s Word into the tribal language, and rejoice with them as they place the finished Bible into the hands of tribal believers.

Prayer is a powerful God-given resource. As we enter the year 2015, let’s consider the impact we can have on missions through the simple, yet profound, act of praying.

Before Super Typhoon Hagupit arrived in the Philippines last week, NTM Aviation was already preparing to help with disaster relief. Yesterday and today, they have been flying to seek out remote areas that are in need and unserved.

Those are results of lessons learned. But one lesson -- a lesson NTM learned but has not been able to apply -- could ground them.

Lives Saved

Because of lessons learned in the wake of last year’s disastrous strike by Super Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines was far better prepared for this storm. Philippines government officials fine-tuned their timing of evacuation orders, and this time around, most people didn’t need to be told twice.

MAF sent a disaster response team to the Philippines immediately after the storm, and asked NTM Aviation to be their eyes again, as they were after Haiyan. NTM Aviation’s personnel and planes were ready to respond because of lessons learned last year.

“We hope to carry out the assessment over the weekend,” wrote Phil Koop, director of NTM Aviation, to seek out “pockets of remote areas which are being overlooked by major aid organizations and government.” That will be followed by decisions on how best to get aid to them, which may or may not include NTM Aviation.

But one of the hardest lessons still needs an answer, and you could be part of that answer.

Relief Can’t Wait

Seeing the huge needs around them, NTM Aviation’s pilots and mechanics jumped into action after Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines. The pilots’ training, experience and skill in flying under difficult conditions, and their specialized aircraft, were invaluable in bringing aid to unserved remote areas. That was the right thing to do. But it soon became apparent that people’s generous response to the need was lagging behind the huge costs of moving aircraft and personnel, and keeping the planes and helicopters fueled and maintained.

More than once, the concern was raised: Will we have to stop flying … stop helping … stop saving lives?

That’s why NTM established a Disaster Relief Emergency Fund -- to provide money to get going and keep relief flowing. So far, a little over $3,000 has come into that fund. And $8,000 is the estimated cost of simply surveying the hard-hit remote areas for those in need in the Philippines -- the first step. The initial costs of responding to a major disaster could easily reach $50,000.

Relief efforts can’t wait until people respond to a need. And when the need seems small, many people won’t respond at all.

More]]>Ian FallisIt's More Than You Thinkhttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80599/it-s-more-than-you-think
80599Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:00:00 -0600What does the word “missions” bring to mind? Do you think of accountants, network administrators or dental hygienists? The missionary team is full of such people. But where do they come from and how do they get their training?

A Member of the Team

Meet Jerry Lehman, the new Creative Director with NTM Communications. His career served as his training. “I spent 25 years in business as a graphic designer, creative director for a publishing company and most recently as creative production manager for an electronics distributor. It’s amazing how all of these different work experiences have each given to me skills that I brought here.”

His knowledge of video is one example. “Just days after I was interviewing [at NTM], my company said, ‘You need to know more about video. We need to send you to school.’ So they sent me to a couple seminars and workshops where I got to really experience video.”

God’s Preparation

Jerry’s skills and experience in the workforce were the perfect training for missions. Your career skills can be used in the context of missions too. Serve in missions in the USA or around the world through education, IT, communications, business and administration, construction and maintenance, health care and more.

“It took 52 years for me to figure out you don't have to be an evangelist or what we think of as ‘big jobs’ for God. You could just be the person that God has created you to be and you use your gifts.” What training, skills and abilities have you acquired in your career? How has God been preparing you to serve Him in missions?

More]]>David PiercePreparing for the Big Movehttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/80432/preparing-for-the-big-move
80432Sun, 30 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0600The better option--if and when it could happen.

Moving into a remote jungle village can be logistical nightmare — especially for a family of five. When you add a shortage of aviation fuel to the mix, it gets even more complicated.

Can you imagine planning a move with two very different scenarios? One could be considered easy: flying all your possessions into the village. The other involves an arduous trip by river and trail, limiting the supplies you can take with you.

A Journey 10 Years in The Making

Logistical nightmare or not, for Jevon and Danica Rich, missionaries in Brazil, this move was an answer to prayer — ten years of prayer.

They tried to be patient as they waited to see whether fuel would be available for the move-in flights — and as dates were set and then discarded. They quit keeping track of how many times they packed, unpacked, and packed again. The excitement of seeing God working out the impossible was intertwined with the stress brought on by disrupted plans.

The Final Flight

And then their miracle happened. Aviation fuel was made available and the move-in flights became a reality. Three days of flights followed — three wonderfully exhausting days of miraculous flights.

Jevon pointed out to his wife that miraculous did not mean without sweat. “I can testify to that,” Danica wrote. “I saw the sweat pouring off his face and his shirt, dripping as if he had taken a dunk in the river, but he hadn’t.”

As the last flight was unloaded, there was no ordering in pizza to celebrate. There was no pizza place. No local grocery. No coffee house. Jevon and Danica were beginning a new life in a remote jungle village without the luxuries of civilization. But they were excited.

Let the Ministry Begin

“Rejoice with us,” Jevon and Danica wrote, “but also pray for us, for the boost of strength and energy that we need in our bodies, minds, and spirits. … Pray that we will be able to get our house in order super fast so that we can focus more on getting to know people.”

That’s what moving in is really about. It’s about beginning the next chapter of life in service to a people group who do not know the Lord, precious souls who need to know the Savior.

As you read this, at least one missionary is sitting in a house halfway between “nowhere” and “anywhere but here,” and perhaps they’re feeling alone. They could be wondering if they’ll ever understand the people God has sent them to. Maybe they’re in a support role, and feeling insignificant and unappreciated. Right now, it seems like they just can’t go on, for any of a dozen reasons.

The Daily Battle

It’s not quiet. Hundreds of bugs may be drumming against their window screens, drawn by the dim light on their table. Rain could be thundering against their tin roof. It might be that people are standing on their porch, calling out their name.

And they’re hot and sticky, and there’s not enough rain or too much rain, and just living here is an exhausting struggle. How on earth are they supposed to plant a church, when it’s a daily battle to cling to Jesus themselves?

And Then It Happens

And then you pray.

The initial result might be something small. A sigh or a deep breath. A fresh breeze. Or something as simple yet profound as hope.

The circumstances don’t change, but in God, they find the strength to persevere. In His Word, they read the encouragement they need. In His presence, they find the comfort they so desperately long for.

Because you prayed.

You Made the Difference

Please don’t think you’re “just praying.”

Your prayers are making a difference right now in the lives of men and women who are serving God. Men and women who know what it’s like to come to the end of their own resources -- and discover all over again that in God is all the strength and encouragement and insight they will ever need.

And all we can do is say, thank you.

If the opportunities we provide for you to pray are as much a blessing to you as you are to us, would you introduce a friend or two to the prayer bulletin, and show them where they can sign up?

If no one knew Christ ...

Imagine that everyone in every state in the USA was lost, and it’s up to you to determine which state to send a church planting team to first. As an added challenge, the team will need to learn a totally different culture. To make the situation more difficult, every state speaks a different language. Watch this video to get a glimpse of the difficult challenges that NTM missionaries face in their work around the world.

More]]>Casey ShortPlane dedication Saturdayhttp://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/79288/plane-dedication-saturday
79288Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0600A Cessna 206 like this one will be going to Brazil to serve missionaries in remote villages.

You can celebrate God’s provision for reaching tribes and transforming lives in Sanford on Saturday.

A Cessna 206 that NTM Aviation is sending to Brazil will be dedicated at the Orlando Sanford International Airport. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.; the dedication will take place at 10.

For years, church planting teams in Brazil have been without flight service. This has resulted in countless hardships for missionaries working in remote villages. Trips that would take an hour or two by plane can become days of travel by boat and on foot.

It’s not only hard on missionaries; it also hinders their ministries. They must spend far more time away from their work – away from sharing God’s Word – on trips for such things as buying supplies, taking children to school, getting paperwork completed and receiving medical care.

Numerous challenges to re-establishing a flight program in Brazil have now been overcome, and a plane is on its way.

The event will take place at 1320 E. 26th Place in Sanford. To get there, take East Airport Boulevard to South Mellonville Avenue and follow the signs to the NTM Aviation event. Here is a map.

You can also help ensure that funds are in place to keep flight service affordable for missionaries in Brazil and elsewhere, with a gift to Missionary Flight Sponsorship.

“Just before I went to bed, I heard the sound of wailing,” wrote Danica Rich, missionary in Brazil. “I had never heard that sound before, and I didn’t know what it was. It sent a sad shiver through me.” It wasn’t until morning that she would learn that an important witchdoctor from upriver had lost his battle with tuberculosis.

A Time to Grieve

“Because of his death, we heard ... nobody would be allowed to work for seven days,” wrote Danica. “No one at all. The men could not cut gardens. The women could not work on their beads. It was to be a time of grieving for all the people.”

Danica and her husband, Jevon, couldn’t help but wonder if it was all about grief and respect for the deceased -- or if there was more behind it.

Conflicting explanations arose over the next few days. Some said that if a person worked during the specified time, someone else would die; others said that doing so would make them lazy.

Confusion Before Clarity

The waters were to get muddier before they cleared. A few days later workers showed up at the Rich’s house. Awkward moments passed as Jevon and Danica tried to understand why they could work. Only four days had passed since the death -- not seven. But the workers insisted it was fine.

When their co-worker Palmira came by the house, she asked them, “Why does one person say seven days, and another says four?”

“You don’t understand our culture,” the worker said. “The people ... on the other river say it is ten days, but they aren’t in charge here. The man in charge upriver says seven days, so some people aren’t working for seven days. … Floriano [the oldest man in his community] told us we could wait four days. So we didn’t work for four days.”

A Crucial Point

“That is why,” he continued, “I say to my people, ‘God’s Word is not like that. In our culture one person says one thing and another says another. But God’s Word is not like that. It is already written down. It cannot be changed.’”

“I think he nailed a crucial point right on the head with those comments,” wrote Danica. “The difference between the oral traditions of men and the written Word of God.”

Pray as outreach continues with the people groups in Brazil, that more people would grasp these important truths.

Did She Wait Too Long?

Finally, the time had come -- the Bible lessons that Wapane longed to hear would be taught. She would be able to hear the Talk about the Creator and His Deliverer that had changed the lives of so many Moi people.

But the lessons would be in a village nearly two hours away by foot, and Wapane, the oldest Moi woman, was now too frail to walk the trail. Had she waited too long to hear this important Talk?

Was it Too Far?

Ginogui, who had heard the Talk and placed his faith in Jesus, knew he had to do something. This was more than just the concern of a believer for a lost woman; Wapane was a relative.

But what could he do? The trail to the village where they would teach was muddy and narrow and steep. Even if he could manage to carry her, could she cling to his back for that long? No, it was too far.

The Answer’s in the Bag

As Ginogui prepared for the trip -- for he would not miss an opportunity to hear this Talk again -- he could not get Wapane’s predicament out of his head.

He got out his largest string bag. The Talk started at Creation and went through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, so he would be gone a long time. He put a hammock in his bag, but then he stopped, and smiled. His largest string bag was just large enough for frail old Wapane!

He emptied the bag and used it to carry her to the village for the Talk. For two hours he focused on the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other as he struggled to bring Wapane safely to her destination.

When she arrived, Wapane said, “I’ve come because of the Creator’s Talk. I’m really excited to hear it, so I’ve come to listen.”

What are You Carrying?

Would you carry someone up and down a rough, muddy trail for two hours so they could hear God’s Word? If you’ve chosen to take responsibility to pray fervently and regularly for missionaries and those they serve, you are carrying a burden no less precious than Wapane.

The Moi Bible teachers recently completed the lessons, and twenty more Mois placed their faith in Christ. We’re sad to say that Wapane was not among them; a Moi teacher is now working closely with her. Please pray that she will understand and place her faith in Christ. Pray also as other teachers now disciple new believers.

And please take a moment to write to Rich and Karen Brown, missionaries to the Moi people, and let them know you’re praying, so they can encourage the Moi believers. Send a note.

The 'Wow' Factor

“In another astounding turn of events, God has provided a second Kodiak for Papua New Guinea!” wrote Phil Koop, NTMA executive director.

And this, just four months after we were blown away--even if we shouldn’t have been!--by God’s amazing provision of the first Kodiak for Papua New Guinea.

The Click of a Mouse

God’s provision. It’s promised. It often comes in unexpected ways and at unexpected moments. And God is not limited in the venues He can use to provide our needs.

Some venues don’t even necessitate reaching into our wallets.

Sometimes it can be a simple click of our mouse to vote.

He’s done it before. Like last year. By the click of many mice, NTM placed second in the 2013 Lightspeed Aviation Foundation’s grant and received $8,000, which was invested in a helicopter used for Typhoon Haiyan relief in the Philippines.

If we click enough mice, that -- or more -- can happen again.

Time Is Running Out

With less than a week to go before voting closes, we’re consistently hovering between second and third place.

We love that you’ve been praying for the provision of the Kodiaks. And we’re excited to let you know that NTM Aviation decided that any grant received through the 2014 Lightspeed Aviation Foundation should go toward the Kodiak aircraft needed for Papua New Guinea.

This may not be the “normal” venue through which we expect to see God working, but He is. Be a part! With a simple click of your mouse you can help move NTM up in the rankings. Voting closes at midnight on October 31, 2014.

You can help by voting now and by sharing this opportunity with as many of your friends and family members as possible. Ask them to vote now for New Tribes Mission.